Relative to children in the attention-placebo and waiting-list control, skills-training children demonstrated increased skill in a role-play situation, a greater verbal knowledge of how to interact with peers, and more initiation of peer interactions in school. (Author)

Comparison of the modes of training showed that reflectively counseled mothers improved primarily in parent attitudes, whereas behaviorally trained mothers improved primarily in actual use of appropriate behavioral skills, reporting reductions in problematic child behavior and improvements in overall family functioning. (Author)

An adaptation of a school-based preventive mental health program is described and evaluated. Teachers and college student volunteers used behavioral reinforcement techniques to work with groups of maladapting second graders. Experimental subjects compared to controls improved significantly in classroom adjustment. (Author)

Behavioral counseling and consulting may be less value laden than other orientations to changing behavior. It appears the principles of behavior modification are not as directly derived from a particular culture as other orientations may be; then behavioral counseling and consulting have definite applicability across different cultural settings.…

Describes using debriefing activities to increase the proactive and preventive benefits when negative consequences are given to students who display problem behavior. Discusses why educators use debriefing activities, how to determine effectiveness, what a debriefing activity should look like, and when it should be used. (Author/CR)

Describes the use of collaborative empiricism in cognitive-behavioral counseling. Presents a case study to illustrate the importance of counselor-client collaboration in promoting the selection of appropriate interventions. Claims that for counselors to understand the client's status quo, they must examine cognitive, affective, and behavioral…

Describes an approach that encourages recovering, alcohol-dependent, single parent mothers and their children to use existing strengths and resources to promote healthy family dynamics. Looks at goal identification, establishing family goals, and identifying previously successful behaviors. Program participants report increases in parenting…

This study evaluated a multicomponent treatment package with three adults having profound mental retardation who engaged in self-injurious hand mouthing. The intervention, which involved brief response interruption followed by the introduction of a preferred leisure item, was successfully implemented during both individual and small group…

Reviews the book "Handbook of Child Behavior Therapy in the Psychiatric Setting." Discusses impact of professional and scientific writing on the reputation and growth of the field of behavior therapy. Considers the book impaired by lack of consistency across chapters with respect to level of sophistication, by redundancy, by an almost total…

Reviews laboratory research on behavioral momentum conducted with pigeons and summarizes its findings and their generality to people, including those with mental retardation. Discusses the high-probability procedure used to establish compliance in clinical settings and based in part on an extension of the momentum metaphor. (CR)

This commentary discusses John Nevin's article on establishing compliance via behavioral momentum involving high-probability procedures, and questions whether applications of behavioral momentum can be derived from the theory, whether applications could have been developed if the theory not been formulated, and whether the theory will add…

A study of an 11-year-old boy with autism and mild mental retardation found that his escape-maintained destructive behavior was reduced during instructional sequences with differential reinforcement of compliance, escape extinction without physical guidance, and demand fading. The procedure decreased destructive behaviors to near-zero levels and…

Reports on an evaluation of a parenting skills intervention specifically with children exhibiting ADHD characteristics. Results reveal a reduction in problem behavior scores of children perceived to have a high frequency of behaviors typical of ADHD. Findings are consistent with those of controlled investigations of the impact of behavioral family…

Three studies of how heredity and environment affect child development are described. Suggestions for applying this knowledge to the management of camper behavior include asking about a child's environment on the camp health form, consulting parents and professionals about a child's behavior, providing loving and safe consequences, and making camp…

This meta-analysis synthesized results from test anxiety reduction programs. The treatment of test anxiety has been quite successful in reducing the test anxiety level of clients. The most effective treatments appear to be those that combine skill-focused approaches with behavior or cognitive approaches. Individually conducted programs, along with…